tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-142089462014-10-15T08:46:33.859-05:00Marathon RunningIt's About Life. It's About Running. It's About Everything In Between.LeahChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029022855972667159noreply@blogger.comBlogger1153125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14208946.post-50710920560591783772014-02-14T18:46:00.003-06:002014-02-14T18:46:51.145-06:00A Valentine's Story<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “And that’s how we’ll do it. &nbsp;Moran’s boys aren’t going to know what hit ‘em. &nbsp;Any questions?” Al Capone swept the room, his dead eyes not inviting questions from any of the 6 Capos that sat around the table in the back of the noisy italian restaurant. &nbsp;Capone sat back in his chair and made a move to pick up his fork and dig into his linguini, the signal that the meeting was adjourned, when a young, newly made Capo spoke up.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Al, um, all due respect,” Jimmy Stripes said, clearing his throat. &nbsp;Stripes was &nbsp;named for his predilection for pin stripe suits. &nbsp;His father, Jimmy Sr, had come up with Capone and greased Stripes ascension within the organization. &nbsp;“It’s just, well. &nbsp;It’s just that my daughter’s birthday is that day.”<br /><br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The room was silent as Capone stared down the length of the table at Jimmy, hand resting on his fork. &nbsp;He remained silent for what felt like hours to the men seated around the table, the clinking of cutlery from the other restaurant patrons rising up to fill awkward silence. &nbsp;Stripes squirmed in his seat.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“And?” Capone said.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“And, well, you see, we already made all the arrangements. &nbsp;We even booked Happy the Clown.”<br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“You booked Happy the Clown,” Johnny the Mouth shouted, drawing stares from a couple nearby tables. &nbsp;“How the fuck did you book Happy the Clown? &nbsp;I’ve been trying to get that fucker for the last two years.”<br /><br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Stripes raised a hand up, palm out. “I swear to God, I booked him over a year ago. &nbsp;Before my kids last birthday. &nbsp;And he still only got me in back then because of a last minute cancellation. &nbsp;I swear, the holy mother was shining -”.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Am I actually hearing this conversation,” Capone interjected, looking around the table incredulously.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Mouth chuckled nervously. &nbsp;“Al, you don’t know how big a deal it is to book this clown. &nbsp;Happy the Clown is the hardest get in Chicago.”<br /><br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“I don’t care if you got Fuckstick-The-Clown-That-Shits-Rainbows. &nbsp;We scheduled the biggest god damn hit in Chicago history and we’re going to follow through with the god damn plan.”<br /><br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Al,” Big Mouth again pleaded. “It’s Happy the Clown. &nbsp;His kid will shit a brick. &nbsp;Can’t we be a little flexible?”<br /><br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Capone threw his hands up in the air and started shouting. “Fine fine. &nbsp;Let’s accommodate everyone. &nbsp;Hey Flips, you got a puppet show you can’t miss? &nbsp;Or what about you, Freddie? &nbsp;Maybe your kid has a stickball game you want to see?”<br /><br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Sir - “ Stripes tried so interrupt, but Capone continued on.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“And when exactly do you want me to reschedule this for,” he said, his hands now waving wildly above his head. &nbsp;The people seated at the surrounding tables made such a point of keeping their heads down their noses were nearly brushing their pasta. &nbsp;“The 15th? &nbsp;I’ve got an appointment for a haircut that day and, if you think it’s difficult to book your fucking clown, you should try getting in with Yvonne. &nbsp;She don’t care who I am and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let anyone else near this hair.”<br /><br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Well, what about the 14th?” Big Mouth asked.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“That’s Valentines day!” Capone exploded.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Well, yeah, but isn’t that sort of okay?<br /><br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Freddie Marciano, who has remained silent up to this point, perked up. &nbsp;“Hey yeah. &nbsp;No need to buy my girl jewelry on account of having to be working. &nbsp;Or my wife neither.” &nbsp;A general murmur of assent spread across the table as each man considered the freedom of not having to find the perfect Valentines gift.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Capone sighed, slumping back in his chair. &nbsp;“Fine,” he said, throwing his hand up in the air. &nbsp;“Fine. &nbsp;Saint Valentines day it is. &nbsp;This better end up being worth it. &nbsp;I recommend you be sure to take down all of Moran’s men, you hear?”<br /><br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“You got it, boss,” Stripes said with a grin. &nbsp;“Anything you want. &nbsp;And thanks.”<br /><br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Hey,” Capone said, looking around the table. “You think we should tell Moran’s boys that they don’t need to bother buying gifts neither?”<br /><br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The men at the table burst out in laughter. &nbsp;Capone folder his hands across his chest and watched on as his men smacked each other on the back, a smile playing at the corner of his lips. <br /><br />Life was good.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UCz_nAf0XPY/Uv63rYrV18I/AAAAAAAAAXY/DIwHbDYJXec/s1600/stvdaymassacre_ch_00432.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UCz_nAf0XPY/Uv63rYrV18I/AAAAAAAAAXY/DIwHbDYJXec/s1600/stvdaymassacre_ch_00432.jpg" height="253" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05624030730170030659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14208946.post-91705506054420233172010-03-19T13:20:00.001-05:002010-03-19T13:20:45.379-05:00<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16683045@N00/4445387489/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4045/4445387489_6590363a18.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16683045@N00/4445387489/">photo</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/16683045@N00/">LeahC</a>.</span></div><p></p>LeahChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029022855972667159noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14208946.post-40925960887919112432010-03-18T16:04:00.001-05:002010-03-18T16:04:05.256-05:00Tilt shift dagny<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16683045@N00/4444158636/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4068/4444158636_ebf8a8c0eb.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16683045@N00/4444158636/">Tilt shift dagny</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/16683045@N00/">LeahC</a>.</span></div><p></p>LeahChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029022855972667159noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14208946.post-37869062998807676482010-03-18T12:34:00.001-05:002010-03-18T12:34:34.176-05:00Chase<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16683045@N00/4442966623/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2747/4442966623_95cd007de4.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16683045@N00/4442966623/">Chase</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/16683045@N00/">LeahC</a>.</span></div><p></p>LeahChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029022855972667159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14208946.post-78304477244426889452010-03-17T17:13:00.001-05:002010-03-17T17:13:51.884-05:00Tilt shift bike<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16683045@N00/4441921664/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2800/4441921664_3f577a06ba.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16683045@N00/4441921664/">Tilt shift bike</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/16683045@N00/">LeahC</a>.</span></div><p></p>LeahChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029022855972667159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14208946.post-56649404296405419042010-03-17T16:15:00.001-05:002010-03-17T16:15:39.038-05:00Tilt shift street corner<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16683045@N00/4441020021/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4045/4441020021_d9afcba4de.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16683045@N00/4441020021/">Tilt shift street corner</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/16683045@N00/">LeahC</a>.</span></div><p></p>LeahChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029022855972667159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14208946.post-21564116618564128782010-03-17T16:12:00.003-05:002010-03-17T16:12:52.330-05:00Tilt shift switzerland<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16683045@N00/4441013945/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4006/4441013945_e6d3c844b0.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16683045@N00/4441013945/">Tilt shift switzerland</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/16683045@N00/">LeahC</a>.</span></div><p></p>LeahChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029022855972667159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14208946.post-37174955604447072010-03-17T16:12:00.001-05:002010-03-17T16:12:38.885-05:00Tilt shift cars<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16683045@N00/4441791654/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4018/4441791654_0d928aa888.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16683045@N00/4441791654/">Tilt shift cars</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/16683045@N00/">LeahC</a>.</span></div><p></p>LeahChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029022855972667159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14208946.post-82170008713588539612010-03-17T12:49:00.001-05:002010-03-17T12:49:02.039-05:00Reflections<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16683045@N00/4441371904/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2751/4441371904_e67d38f21c.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16683045@N00/4441371904/">Reflections</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/16683045@N00/">LeahC</a>.</span></div><p></p>LeahChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029022855972667159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14208946.post-37871623753409029032010-03-16T16:33:00.001-05:002010-03-16T16:33:01.772-05:00<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16683045@N00/4438547401/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2703/4438547401_8d387a74a4.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16683045@N00/4438547401/">photo</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/16683045@N00/">LeahC</a>.</span></div><p></p>LeahChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029022855972667159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14208946.post-59592586505318372152010-02-01T22:10:00.000-06:002010-02-01T22:10:12.657-06:00Goodbye Blogger. Hello Wordpress.Well this was inevitable.<br /><br /><a href="http://jasonleahrun.com/">http://jasonleahrun.com</a> was available and I thought it might be fun to host my own site. And so I did. So far so good with the wordpress although I don't know how I feel about the template. I mean I think it looks good, but I don't like the back end of it. It's a place to get started though and start testing some bigger ideas I have for jasonleahrun.<br /><br />So go there. Change your RSS feeds to <a href="http://jasonleahrun.com/feed">http://jasonleahrun.com/feed</a>. Look I even linked it for you so you can add it easily. <br /><br />Contact us at jasonleahrun@gmail.com if you come across any problems or whatevers. Hope to see you there. In fact go there and leave a comment and say hi so we don't feel so lonely out of blogger-ville.LeahChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029022855972667159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14208946.post-70776097726429546592010-01-27T09:45:00.001-06:002010-01-27T14:51:34.905-06:00We Put Our Coats On<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/365-Lucy/365Lucy1/774647952_GfJ7k-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/365-Lucy/365Lucy1/774647952_GfJ7k-L.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /></div><br /><br />Well I think that picture says it all. We live here, we all hate February, but in the end we put our coats on and deal with it.<br /><br />There is nothing, and I mean nothing, that compares to that first warm day. It's usually followed by a snow storm or sub zero temperatures but we all cherish that day. A few years ago there was a random 50 degree day smack dab in the middle of February. Jason and I went on a long walk along the lake front path as did the rest of Chicago. People were our running in shorts and no shirts and the lake front was jammed with people. The edges of the path were still covered in snow and the weather for the following week was gloomy, cold and horrible. But for that one day we had a glimpse of summer. And it makes the winter worth it. <br /><br />Yesterday I bundled Lucy up good and tight and she resembled snowsuit Randy from A Christmas Story but we had fun. We went to visit Obtiva for a few minutes and then met Jason for coffee and cupcakes at Starbucks. Lucy was a traveling champ as always. A few times she almost woke up and she would get real excited, but I think it was more, "What the hell are you doing mom, don't you know it's cold out here?" and then she would go back to sleep.<br /><br />In other news, I'm starting another photo project. My current one is just to post a picture every day on my <a href="http://leahcphotos.wordpress.com/">photoblog</a>. But I don't care when I take those pictures and there could be several from the same day. So I get away with going to take a bunch of pictures and then setting my camera down for a few weeks since I have so many in the bag. Ok well the camera is not really set down as it's in Lucy's face, but as far as taking pictures of things other than the baby. So I'm starting a 365 project where a new picture has to be taken every day. I hope to learn a lot and force myself to see photos where I usually wouldn't. So today is day 2. Let's see how long I make it. I'll be putting the pictures up in this <a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Photography/365-Project/11061175_msJf7#774268570_NrDaG">smugmug gallery</a> and also over at <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16683045@N00/sets/72157623169661047/">flickr</a>.&nbsp; I suppose I could also do a Lucy 365 project too and take a picture of her every day.....I just about do that anyways....three photo projects at once? What the WHAT? Alright, fine that is started too, with photos being housed <a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/365-Lucy/11065440_H4w7z#774647952_GfJ7k">here</a>. With all the photo work I've been doing, that new 27" iMac is calling to me. Why can't I be rich and just go out and buy it. But alas I am not and so that'll have to wait. <br /><br />Should be a lazyish day today as not much going on. My Dad is coming over to get some stuff sometime this morning and then just reading and playing with Lucy. Perhaps a walk to starbucks this afternoon. Thinking if I take my small 50mm lens I could take my camera and the baby and it wouldn't be too much to carry...can I take pictures with a baby strapped to me though? Something to test I think.LeahChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029022855972667159noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14208946.post-28332894791032151872010-01-26T08:21:00.000-06:002010-01-26T08:21:37.909-06:00Oh Chicago How I Hate Your WinternessEvery year. Every single year at this time Jason and I start the, "Why do we live here? You know how nice it is in California? What if we got jobs there? Maybe we should look for some."<br /><br />I HATE THIS TOWN IN LATE JANUARY, FEBRUARY AND MARCH IS JUST A FUCKING JOKE. Like oh it's March, spring is coming. Yeah right.<br /><br />Yesterday I was thinking Lucy and I could go somewhere, but as it's horrible outside where would we go....we could go walk to Starbucks and sit inside. We could walk to anywhere and then sit inside because it's cold out and so you can't actually be outside. So why walk somewhere when I can sit inside my apartment where it's free.<br /><br />Well, I'll tell you why. Because if you don't go walk somewhere and sit inside there you go FUCKING&nbsp; CRAZY SITTING IN YOUR APARTMENT.<br /><br />Oooooooooh hate.<br /><br />When Jason got home I gave him the baby and put on my running clothes and went out for a quick run. The song Minority by Green Day came on and I started running really fast, and now I used to be a fast runner, but when I caught a glimpse of myself in a window reflection I looked ridiculous, like I have never run before and was just running because I was late for something. Like my arms and legs weren't really connected to my body.<br /><br />So I ran a mile and walked a mile home. It felt to get out there, in the running and just leaving the apartment sense. I'm noting that I have a long way to go from 1 mile to the marathon so that's a tad daunting. And by tad I mean hugely.<br /><br />When I got home Jason and I gave Lucy a bath which was *hilarious* as she was all splish splash I was taking a bath style. After that I fed her and put her down and she was out at about 8pm. Then she slept till 6. I'm so lucky having such a good sleeper and so soon too!<br /><br />Today after her morning snooze that she's taking right now we are going to go downtown and visit Obtiva and then get some coffee with Jason. Then this afternoon my Dad is coming over to watch her so I can go to the gym. Which by the way will be my third time going. My big plan is to go Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdays. Also I would like a trainer but I figure that I would like to be able to lift more than just one weight before getting that so I won't just be a piece of meat. So maybe in a month or so. <br /><br />SO that should keep me busy until Jason gets home today. At the end of this week my Dad is speaking at the Strictly Sail show and we'll be there helping him with that.<br /><br />With the weather being so gross I am also missing taking pictures outside. Although I can take 800 pictures of the baby on a daily basis, she's still not doing much. So I'm trying to think of photo projects to do indoors. Not really coming up with anything. Hopefully during the sailing show I can get some pictures of the show itself and then some of Navy Pier and downtown.<br /><br />That is all...except for some pictures...and not just of the baby this time! <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/City/Chicago/General-City-Pictures/IMG2545-Edit/772073086_Zwekd-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/City/Chicago/General-City-Pictures/IMG2545-Edit/772073086_Zwekd-L.jpg" width="266" /></a><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/City/Chicago/General-City-Pictures/IMG2592-Edit/772077083_8LQoN-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/City/Chicago/General-City-Pictures/IMG2592-Edit/772077083_8LQoN-L.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2609-Edit/771323381_5Dt8P-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2609-Edit/771323381_5Dt8P-L.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2641-Edit/771337820_Dt94y-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2641-Edit/771337820_Dt94y-L.jpg" width="266" /></a><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2645-Edit/771341023_8HuGR-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2645-Edit/771341023_8HuGR-L.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /></div>LeahChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029022855972667159noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14208946.post-64869004583261762010-01-21T13:43:00.001-06:002010-01-21T13:45:09.790-06:00Just Go Do It, Trip to Bernies...and Pictures :)So I just deleted this whole post I had written yesterday that was all about how are Jason and I going to run together and I had all these options, we could take the baby to my Dad's, we could run separately, both of which were kind of complicated. Then we realized that we could rig the running stroller pretty well to deal with the winter and the fact that Lucy is still only 6 weeks old so we could just go with her AND use our swanky awesome new running stroller. SO that's what we did.<br /><br />I fed Lucy and right when Jason got home he got his running clothes on, we put the baby in the running stroller all bundled up and we carried it down the stairs and away we went. We stopped at my Dad's to show her off (and take a break...um...yeah when was the last time I went running? Yeah.) and then we continued onto the path for a bit and then back home.<br /><br />It was *great*. I love running with Jason and so I was just really excited to make it happen with the baby. There is a lot of talk of, "You can't do anything you did before" when you are pregnant and I am determined to not let that completely happen. I mean obviously things are going to change, and be different and hell yes it's more complicated doing the things we did before now that we have the baby, but you just do them. Take the baby with and head out the door. And the running stroller equals pure awesome.<br /><br />That being said, I think we need a better solution for the cold for the baby and I was worried that with all the ice on the path and the streets that it was a little too bumpy for her.....so we have to do some more experimenting and testing. And yes we are still going to do runs without the baby, but I can't wait till she is a bit older and it's warmer out so it will actually be a fun ride for her.<br /><br />After we got home we ate dinner and then fed the baby then gave her a bath, gave her a bit more foods and then the kid passed out. I think the run tired her out (Mom too!!). Her bath was a little exciting yesterday because for the first time she crapped in the tub. And so we took her out, cleaned the tub, put more water and soap in there and literally we put her in and then she really unloaded...so we repeated and finished up quickly. <br /><br />Yesterday in the afternoon I called my Dad to save me from some ansyness and we took Lucy on her first trip to Bernies (a bar across the street from Wrigley Field). My Dad's friend was bartending so it was fun to show the baby off and we think that she liked Billy Williams' jersey the best. Yes...we are winners taking the baby to a bar at 6 weeks old.<br /><br />She really gets smiling these days which is a lot of fun and we just make ridiculous faces at her trying to get her to smile more and more. That and I just about have my camera permanently attached to my face hoping to catch one of the big ones.<br /><br />So as usual I'll leave you with some pictures. The first four are of Little Lu playing, "LOOK AT ME I CAN SIT UP!", followed by, "My Dad is so comfy", followed by, "Really...they took me to a bar? What's wrong with my Mom and Grandpa?". As always, lots of pictures at my smugmug page: <a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/">http://leahc.smugmug.com/</a><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2523-Edit/769681710_a2NKz-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2523-Edit/769681710_a2NKz-L.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2515-Edit/769675911_DBkAH-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2515-Edit/769675911_DBkAH-L.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2518-Edit/769678971_6Jo47-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2518-Edit/769678971_6Jo47-L.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2527-Edit/769682617_bs4rd-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2527-Edit/769682617_bs4rd-L.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2532-Edit/769985982_vmVn5-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2532-Edit/769985982_vmVn5-L.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2542-Edit/770072183_pFVcu-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2542-Edit/770072183_pFVcu-L.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2596-Edit/770073328_ENgx7-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2596-Edit/770073328_ENgx7-L.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /></div>LeahChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029022855972667159noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14208946.post-41586506498850700022010-01-15T06:12:00.000-06:002010-01-15T06:12:49.073-06:00Look at the Change!!!I know she's changing and growing, but it's not until looking at pictures that it's so visible!&nbsp; <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i>2 Days Old</i><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-The-Early-Days/IMG1723/737252010_X9u3L-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-The-Early-Days/IMG1723/737252010_X9u3L-L.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>1 Month Old</i><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2411-Edit/763610529_EQrV2-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2411-Edit/763610529_EQrV2-L.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Amazing!<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">That last picture was taken during her favorite time of the day, bath time. We got her a new tub because it was getting difficult to hold her in the sink and we wanted her to be able to sit in the water for a bit longer. Turns out she loves her new tub and it was the bst 17 bucks that we have spent. She just sits in there and smiles and floats around. It's so much fun!<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">She's still doing really good and sleeping longer and longer at night. It seems that she can go 6-8 hours so it depends on when she falls asleep but either way I'm happy about it. Today she got up at 4:30 and we decided to just stay up. This is all part of my master plan to just get up at 4amish in general. We'll see how long I make it before nap time.<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />She had her one month appointment on Tuesday and she's doing great. Of course she's in the high percentiles for height, weight and head size but that is to be expected given where she started. She's up to 22.5" long (90th percentile) and 12lbs (95th percentile) and head size is up in the 90th percentile as well...but looking at my family that was coming. She gave the doctor a smile and held her head up for some tummy time. So she's doing great. She had to get a second HepB shot and that was hilarous. The nurse gave her the shot and it was totally a delayed reaction, like...wait...that hurts...that hurts ME. Her face got bright read and then the screaming started. But it was only about 15 seconds of screaming and then she was back to her normal self.<br /><br />This week we have taken some adventures on the CTA. We took the bus to the doctors appointment and then on Wednesday we took the Red line down to Loopy yarns and then met up with Jason for lunch. The doctors appointment adventure went 100% smoothly, but the Red line trip got a little hairy at the end.&nbsp; I pushed the feeding window a little too far and she started fussing and crying towards the end of the trip back, but it wasn't too bad and all was fine once we got home. <br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Today I have big plans to get my hair cut and highlighted because it's a *disaster*. When Lu looks at me, she smiles and while I think it's cute and I'll do whatever I can to keep her doing it, I kind of wonder if she's looking at my hair and thinking, wow that woman looks ridiculous. :)<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I know you want pictures! Ok. Here's a few. <br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>One of my favorite shirts for her. Thanks Scotty and Brandy. Rock. </i><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2377-Edit/763794431_PEE6B-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2377-Edit/763794431_PEE6B-L.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The doctor says she thinks they'll stay blue</i><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2379-Edit/763595222_GfSE8-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2379-Edit/763595222_GfSE8-L.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>I LOVE BATH TIME! </i><br /><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2427-Edit/763633166_ZNGFM-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2427-Edit/763633166_ZNGFM-L.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /></div>LeahChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029022855972667159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14208946.post-28268504666012987792010-01-11T08:49:00.000-06:002010-01-11T08:49:42.691-06:00When to Wake (and Pictures!)So Little Miss Lucille has two speeds. On and Off. Shockingly just like her mother. That and as soon as you put her in her car seat and or Pikkolo carrier she's out like a light. When my Dad and I used to take our summer Dad Daughter road trip vacations I would be all set with books and crafts and things to do in the car, and instantly I would be out. I would wake up and my Dad would inform me that I had missed a couple of states while I was sleeping.<br /><br />So she's a good sleeper and as soon as she's out at night she's out, but right before she goes down it's LittleMissLetMeShowYouHowICanTalkReallyLoudly. She's been going down between 8 and 9 and sleeping all the way until 4ish. So yesterday I was planning on just staying awake after feeding her at 4 because I can get some stuff done in the mornings while she is sleeping. She gets a little crankier and more awake in the afternoons and so I can't do as much stuff.<br /><br />So last night she woke up at 2:30 instead of 4 and so the plan was thrown off. However after finishing feeding her and putting her down it was about 3am and I was pretty awake. Not that I had a problem falling back asleep as I am the queen of sleeping, but I could have totally stayed awake. But that's a bit early and so we went back to sleep. The problem is that when I then woke up at 6 with the little one I was totally groggy and heavy headed. So I'm wondering why I'm pretty clear and awake at 3 but then stupid acting at 6.<br /><br />Anyways.<br /><br />We had a great morning this morning, she was up at 6 and I fed her and whatnot and she played on her Boppy activity mat for about an hour and a half before going down for her morning nap. I have still gotten a lot done this morning so not a big deal not getting up at 4, but going to try and make that happen. I always thought that it would be awesome if you didn't really have to sleep cause you could get so much more done, so maybe I can use the baby to train myself to cut down on my sleep. Of course the coffee and excedrin will have to increase :). <br /><br />Gotta run some errands today and then tomorrow it's off to the doctors for Lucy's one month appointment.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>For those of you that don't keep up with my smug mug account here are some of the latest of the Little One.&nbsp; <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2347-Edit/760684424_b8FQv-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2347-Edit/760684424_b8FQv-L.jpg" width="266" /></a><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2361-Edit/760707422_yKVAr-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2361-Edit/760707422_yKVAr-L.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2350-Edit/760685335_zT68g-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2350-Edit/760685335_zT68g-L.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2358-Edit/760705833_3AiQB-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2358-Edit/760705833_3AiQB-L.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2362-Edit/761030749_jhD5t-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2362-Edit/761030749_jhD5t-L.jpg" width="266" /></a><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2370-Edit/761033472_cyfuw-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2370-Edit/761033472_cyfuw-L.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2372-Edit/761034518_VZqfL-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2372-Edit/761034518_VZqfL-L.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /></div>LeahChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029022855972667159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14208946.post-56951262121848831072010-01-08T19:21:00.003-06:002010-01-08T19:24:33.462-06:00One MonthHoly hell does time fly. Little Miss Lucille is one month old today. She's still doing great most of the time. About 20% of the time she's gotten really good at getting her crank on. She sleeps from about 9-4 so we can't complain about that. At 4 so goes back down until about 6:30 or 7.<br /><br />This computer is currently making my head pulsate and so I'm posting this picture and that is all for today.<br /><br />Happy 1 month birthday kiddo! You sure are a lot of fun!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2371-Edit/760382893_GF5QR-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-January-2010/IMG2371-Edit/760382893_GF5QR-L.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /></div>LeahChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029022855972667159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14208946.post-81738555980259797452010-01-06T09:34:00.000-06:002010-01-06T09:34:10.126-06:00Getting Out of the House! A Must!Yesterday little Miss Lucille Jean was quite the crank. She woke up at about 4am and while I was changing her I noticed that she was shivering, then I noticed the glass of ice water I had been drinking at 12:30 still had ice in the glass.....then I looked at the thermastat and realized that the heat had gone out. It was just a pilot light and the landlord came by at about 8:00 and showed me how to light it. But between 4 and 8 I just had Lucy lay on my chest under many many blankets. I think the scheduling weirdness weirded her out and she was just cranky yesterday. She didn't take any long naps, and she was just whiney.<br /><br />When Jason came home, I handed him the baby and went out for a walk. I have two weeks before I'm cleared to run again but I can start doing some quicker and longer walks so that's what I did. And it was awesome. I put on some headphones, cranked up the volume and just enjoyed being out and "working out" again. Plus when I came back to the still cranky baby I wasn't as frustrated or as tired even though I was still running on only a few hours of sleep. When Jason and I were in graduate school we never got that much sleep but we were always always working out and running. I think even though it makes you tired, for some reason it also gives you more energy. So I am looking forward to doing more of that to keep me from going crazy being indoors all day and pump up my energy level.<br /><br />The running plan for the year is to run in the Shamrock Shuffle 8K, the Soldier Field 10 mile, the Rock and Roll 1/2 marathon and ending with the Chicago Marathon. My dad and I are going to train together for all of these and he's been doing a great job of running in this cold weather. I have all the cold weather gear that I need except for a pair of gloves which I plan on getting in the next few days. 2010 is all about getting the distance back and 2011 will be about speed. Just going to cruise and concentrate on becoming a long distance runner again and getting back into the shape I like to be in. <br /><br />The little one is starting to wake up. My dad has given her the nickname of Lucy-fer when she's being the crank and the name is sticking. So Lucy, in the future when mom teases you and calls you Lucyfer, you just blame your grandpa.LeahChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029022855972667159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14208946.post-91978951645984734882009-12-31T09:45:00.000-06:002009-12-31T09:45:26.449-06:002009 and the 00's in ReviewWell here we sit at the end of the year. I was looking back at the posts from the beginning of the year looking for that <a href="http://jasonleahrun.blogspot.com/2009/01/new-yeara-newyou.html">"Here's what I'm going to do this year post"</a>.<br /><br />So let's see. I said I was going to learn photoshop. Done and Done. I find the program very useful and have gotten pretty good at taking good pictures and just touching them up to give them that bit of pizzaz and also using it to fix pictures that are totally screwed up due to bad exposure settings or what not. <br /><br />My Dad, Jason and I had all planned on reading "I'm a Strange Loop". Didn't so much happen. But we can put that on the burner for this year.<br /><br />Go to the YMCA ALL THE TIME! Yeah...seriously went like 5 times.<br /><br />Travel to Zurich. Done and Done.<br /><br />No where in that post did we talk about the the "Let's Try and Make a Baby" plan. Turns out that is what 2009 ended up being and go figure we made a pretty awesome little girl. The whole year ended up being somewhat consumed by preparing for her arrival. In the "Here's what I'm going to do this year post" I say, "Our little family unit is 180 from where we were last year" and I think I can safely say that again this year. This time last year Jason and I found ourselves seated at Sheffields most evenings for delicious beers and bbq, or out with work crowds downtown. Now we just find ourselves staring at the little one and wondering what the hell she is thinking and looking at and learning and it's just amazing!<br /><br />And what will become of 2010? Who the hell knows but I can only hope that it's as exciting as the last few years have been. I like the being 180 from where I was the year before...although...you keep going 180 don't you just end up back where you started two years previous? Wait...what the what? Anyways.<br /><br />2009 is also the end of quite a decade. I was talking to Jason and I was like...wow, at the end of the last decade I was 20. I mean..wow I can do math right? But seriously I was at a New Years Eve party in Chicago with friends from Indiana.<br /><br />I was still an undergrad and only in my junior year of a physics degree. 10 years later and I have a PhD in the subject and had a ton of fun getting it. We got to work at the biggest lab on the planet at the time and I measured something more precisely than anyone else had (and it still stands as far as I know).<br /><br />Jason and I weren't even dating 10 years ago. We were very good friends, but didn't start dating until May of 2000...wow that's so weird to think about. Now we are married and have this wonderful little person that is half of each of us.<br /><br />During the decade we never really had any money but didn't let it stop us from traveling to Europe and the Caribbean and living in Chicago even though we were working out in Bativia. Of course if we hadn't done those things we probably wouldn't have been quite as poor...but I would never ever give up those days. We laugh now at the shithole apartments we lived in because we didn't have a choice, but I mean really the Iowa Street apartment? What the fuck were we thinking?<br /><br />We grew up in the 00's. We dated, we broke up, we dated, we got married and along the way became even closer friends than I could have imagined. How many people marry their best friend? I mean really! I am so lucky. And little Lucy? Well she's going to grow up with two wacky ass parents. We of course aren't finding ourselves at Sheffields every night for beer and bbq, but we are still planning on a trip to Europe this coming year and because we can we are planning on Little Miss Lucy coming with us. Just because you have a baby doesn't mean that *everything* has to change. Of course....as long as Miss Lucy is under the age of two her seat on the flight is free....so that might have something to do with it.<br /><br />And so we close out the decade miles and miles from where we entered it. I'm thinking the 10's are going to be just as amazing.LeahChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029022855972667159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14208946.post-72302434863010834802009-12-28T08:08:00.000-06:002009-12-28T08:08:15.588-06:00And So We StartJason just left for work after being off for about 3 weeks. He's back to work full time although this week he gets Friday off for New Years Day so at least he's going back to a short week. I have mentioned how much I hate that we don't work together any more and so I'm not going to mention it again...except that I just did. Damn. Ok well I miss him and this will be a tough transition to make.&nbsp; I think a lot more difficult than when he started working separate from me in the first place. Ok that's it. Going to stop talking about it now. <br /><br />And it being winter and gross out I have no plans although I have to get out of this apartment today as I've been inside for the last two days. My Dad is coming by late morning and I think we are going to take Lucy to Bernies which should be a nice walk. And then we can put her first steps in to a bar at less than 3 weeks. Which is nice and classy I think. Hopefully it's not too too cold out, we'll see. So far not a big fan of having a winter baby.<br /><br />Lucy continues to be a great kid and is sleeping in her own room and waking up one time during the night to eat. She goes down for bed around 9:30-10 and gets up around 2:30-3 and then wakes up between 6 and 7. It could totally be a lot worse and so I'm happy we have such a good sleeper. What's awesome is that after she wakes up in the middle of the night she goes right back to sleep as if she knows it's 3 in the morning and not time to be up and on it. <br /><br />We are not even talking about the Colts in this household, but we are hoping that the Bears can pull of a win tonight. Favre is old and it's cold in Chicago so you never know. Miracles can happen.<br /><br />No pictures of Lucy today but my Uncle recently scanned this one in of me at about 3 I think.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs137.snc3/18446_224133018165_751263165_3043151_1260862_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs137.snc3/18446_224133018165_751263165_3043151_1260862_n.jpg" width="218" /></a><br /></div><br />Ok...well just a few pictures of Lucy:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">She does this often with her right hand, right up by her ear like that<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG2060/748773454_q5cPV-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG2060/748773454_q5cPV-L.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">When she gets these eyes we know it's going to take some work to get her to sleep<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG2066/748775413_svubP-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG2066/748775413_svubP-L.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Her eyes are still blue. I've done the genetic tables (yes. It's the only part of freshman biology that I was good at) and she has a small shot at getting blue eyes because Jason and I both have grandparents with blue eyes....maybe it's like a 1/16 chance. I did find out that her Great Grandmother Lucille who she was named after had blue eyes....so we'll see<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG2083-Edit/748780733_Nk5iu-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG2083-Edit/748780733_Nk5iu-L.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /></div>LeahChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029022855972667159noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14208946.post-30695235439697459122009-12-24T09:43:00.000-06:002009-12-24T09:43:24.728-06:00First Time Parent Syndrome, Christas Eve, Jason Back to Work and Pictures!So ok. Lucy had some congestion. I mean the child was racked with pain with said stuffy nose. How am I supposed to know that IT'S JUST A STUFFY NOSE. Sigh.<br /><br />Yesterday Jason and I were convinced that the stuffy nose was something more than a stuffy nose. We realized we had a shitty thermometer as it was giving us readings that varied by over a degree in a 10 second span. So we called the doctor who said, stuffyness was very common in newborns to which I yelled, "THE CHILD IS SCREAMING. IT'S MORE THAN JUST A STUFFY NOSE." So they told us to bring her in and we did. And then of course Lucy just sat there and cooed and was cute and yes had some congestion. The doctor we saw was pretty funny. He's an older guy and I think he said he had 6 or 7 kids and so yeah. He said...ah first parent syndrome, usually I don't see that until at least week four. I told him that's probably true but I'm clearly neurotic. He said, well I can see that.<br /><br />So yeah, Lucy is fine. And we are going to try and calm down a little bit. We've been trying to keep her on a pretty strict sleeping/eating schedule and so we are going to back off that a little bit just because she seems to do better when we let her dictate what she wants to do. She's already sleeping 5-6 hours at night and actually last night went 6 hours between feedings which is awesome. My parents told me that I was sleeping through the night at about 2 weeks so hopefully this kid is following that same plan. It's horribly frustrating though becasue all the books are like, newborns have to eat every 2-3 hours so you have to wake them up. Lucy is probably the hardest sleeper that I have ever seen and it's really hard to wake her up so I hate doing it. Plus she's not exactly the size of a newborn. So yeah....in short we are figuring it out day by day and probably making tons of mistakes along the way. But like the doctor said, she'll let us know when she's hungry and uncomfortable and so maybe we should try listening to her instead of books....or probably more accurately a little bit of both.<br /><br />Our little niece who is just 5 days older than Lucy is having a hard time these days. She caught a respiratory virus and is in the hospital hooked up to all kinds of tubing. Jason and I cannot even imagine what his brother and wife are going through and hope that she turns the corner soon. <br /><br />I was planning on making a big Christmas Eve dinner and then I thought...wait...we live by lots of restaurants that deliver. So we are ordering a nice Christmas pizza. But I'm baking cookies today so we got that going for us.<br /><br />Today was Jason's first day back at work. If he takes Christmas Eve off he has to take a full vacation day but if he goes into work he only has to work a 1/2 day so he went in for the morning today. He goes back full time on Monday. After him being home for the last almost 3 weeks it's really hard for me to see him go back to work. I miss working with him and seeing him all the time and him just being home reminded me of those times when we would see each other all the time and work together and I fucking miss it. Not many people get to be in love with their best friend and have gotten years to work with them. We'll get back into a rhythm soon enough I know. Although we'll have a new rhythm that involves the baby. But anyways. It's tough to see him leave for work and I'm sad. Good thing we all get presents tomorrow. Presents makes everything better. <br /><br />And as usual because everyone just likes pictures, here we go:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG1908-Edit/743720558_5tm93-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG1908-Edit/743720558_5tm93-L.jpg" width="266" /></a><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG1953-Edit/744666512_vWDJZ-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG1953-Edit/744666512_vWDJZ-L.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG1977-Edit/744670939_kwu6q-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG1977-Edit/744670939_kwu6q-L.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG2044/747394515_3VZms-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG2044/747394515_3VZms-L.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I don't quite fit yet! But when I do this looks like it'll be a rockin' good time. Thanks all grandparents!<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG2048-Edit/747400828_MW7Ya-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG2048-Edit/747400828_MW7Ya-L.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Those are my toes! And I kind have the fat man boobs and belly....but I'm loving my first bath! <br /></div>LeahChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029022855972667159noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14208946.post-44908519669723451492009-12-17T09:02:00.000-06:002009-12-17T09:02:00.193-06:00Strange, Wonderful, Perfect and then OvertiredBeing a new parent of course is very strange but it's helping that Little Lu is apparently the perfect child. She doesn't really cry, she eats, sleeps, looks around a little bit and then goes back to sleep. I know she's looking at Jason and I and thinking, "Oh great, I got a bunch of rookies. Just put the fucking tshirt on already, this shouldn't take you 5 minutes. Can't you see I'm pretty much naked? LET'S GO ROOKIES, GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME"<br /><br />Jason and I have settled into parenthood like champs although it helps having the support staff of the Gods. My Mom has been staying with us and cooking meals for us and cleaning up which is so awesome. She thought that it would be the crazy house with the baby and would have to help more with her, but since Lu is so perfect and Jason and I have a lot of that under control there hasn't been much to help with there. If she wasn't here though...it would be D'Augs or Penny's Noodles every night and our living room would be covered with baby blankets, diapers, pacifiers, pillows and god knows what other treasures we would find there. So that has been such a huge help. My Dad and Sue of course are here all the time and my Dad has been able to run some errands for us when we need stuff and so on. I don't know how calm we would be without the three of them around.<br /><br />So all was perfect and Lu slept and she ate and she slept and she looked around quietly. Then last night we did our tree decorating and my Mom made dinner and there was just a ton going on. Poor Lu couldn't quite get to sleep between two of her feedings and then the poor kid was so overtired that she was awake for many many hours. She was fussy and just could not close her eyes. Well she would, but then they would snap open like a baby doll and we would have to start trying to calm her down all over again. She stayed awake till her next feeding and then for a few more hours after that. Finally finally, she fell asleep on my chest. She did wake up an hour later to eat, but then we put her right back in the bassinette and she drifted right off for a nice 4 hour snooze. This morning she hung with Jason and I in our room after eating and is now back asleep. Before she went to sleep she was making some pretty spectacular faces which was fun to look at. She makes one face and she looks just like Yoda which of course Jason the Star Wars King loves.<br /><br />Today Jean and her baby Ethan are coming to visit so that should be fun and then tomorrow we are having a Holiday Party/Come poke the baby open house deal so that should be fun....hopefully not too much stimulation :). <br /><br />As far as me, I'm feeling great. I'm not going to be one of those people that is all talking about my weight and if I'm back to my pre pregnancy weight and yadda yadda. I know I'll get there soon enough but I will say that the weight was a whole lot of baby and fluids I think because I just have a little pooch left. I can start running again in like 4 weeks and I'm really looking forward to that. I'm going to coach my Dad and I think with me coming off of abdominal surgery he'll be able to go a lot farther than me, but he better get ready for the coach from hell that's going to come knocking on his door with the temps at 2 degrees. LET'S GO RUNNING!<br /><br />And of course since no one really cares about all the of above and just wants to see pictures of the little one. Here you go. There will be lots and lots of pictures at this location which is updated daily if you are interested: <a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy">http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy</a>. Enjoy!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG1789/741889028_NvFto-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG1789/741889028_NvFto-L.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG1811/742020161_4X7ae-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG1811/742020161_4X7ae-L.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;<a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG1809-Edit/742019268_kgBVD-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG1809-Edit/742019268_kgBVD-L.jpg" width="266" /></a> <a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG1824/742033836_AqBgL-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG1824/742033836_AqBgL-L.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG1842/742052033_Q9Jz2-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG1842/742052033_Q9Jz2-L.jpg" width="266" /></a><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG1862/742085261_X8JFo-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG1862/742085261_X8JFo-L.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;<a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG1852-Edit/742110269_PsRTK-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG1852-Edit/742110269_PsRTK-L.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;<a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG1867-Edit/742091314_iroSx-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Children/Lucy/Lucy-December-2009/IMG1867-Edit/742091314_iroSx-L.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /></div>LeahChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029022855972667159noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14208946.post-78911697241413585482009-12-15T07:38:00.000-06:002009-12-15T07:38:35.661-06:00It's Baby Lucy!So Leah's already recounted her epic experience from the perspective of the lady in the hospital gown, but I thought I'd chime in on the view from the sidelines.<br /><br />Heading in to the hospital to get started with the induction was a pretty simple process. The admission process was easy and the early induction steps were a piece of cake as Leah was just strapped into an IV and the pitocin started dripping. No problem. Easy peasy. La di da. I just hung out over on the day bed and we watched TV together, too tired and excited to go to bed. The baby was almost here! Yay!<br /><br />Sure, the nurses cautioned us that it could take 18-24 hours for induction to work its magic. Our first resident even warned that it could take as long as 48 hours, worst case.<br /><br />Yeah, okay. Sure. I think we'll be fine, thanks.<br /><br />And so the pitocin kept on dripping and we kept on hanging out. We tried to get a bit of sleep that night, but it wasn't really possible. Every half hour Leah's automatic blood pressure cuff would start pumping and wake us up. But no big deal if we didn't get sleep because, really, the baby would be here soon!<br /><br />And then noon the next day started to roll around. Leah had been contracting for almost 14 hours and had nothing to show for it. A mere 1.5 centimeters and no pain. Boo to no pain! And so the doctor decided to break Leah's water and let nature's pitocin take over. Out doctor was pulled into a c-section and couldn't make it in for the water breaking, so a resident was sent in instead.<br /><br />And then the breaking of the water began.<br /><br />I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say it's the worst thing I've ever seen. The look of pain on Leah's face while the resident was on top of her, wielding her instrument of torture (which I swear to god was a meter long), was just horrifying. And all I could do was sit over on the sidelines and watch, doing nothing. In the end it worked, but it was distinctly not awesome. Afterwords, I remembered to breath again.<br /><br />Eventually.<br /><br />And I think I'm just about recovered from the trauma.<br /><br />Almost.<br /><br />But, in the end, the water breaking was a good thing as the contraction began to really kick in. Yay for pain! On a scale from 1 to 10, I believe she said her pain was a fortheloveofgodstopaskingmethatgoddamnquestion. We spent the next little while walking the halls and dilating (well, she dilated more than I did. I'm still at 1 cm) and the pain kept on increasing. Leah was starting to get really uncomfortable and then the time came. Get me the drugs! And some for Leah, too! Druuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugggggggggggggggggs.<br /><br />And so she got the epidural. And it was delicious. I remember walking back into the room (they make the fathers leave during this procedure) and I did a double take. Leah was sitting there on the best smiling and joking with the nurses, back to her pre-pain self. I was starting to feel pretty good about this. And, as a bonus, she was up to 3 cm dilated. Woo Hoo! The baby was on the way!<br /><br />And then it was a lot of hanging out and waiting. We watched Monday Night Football then slept for awhile. During that time, Leah passed 6.5 and 7 cm and the night was starting to really drag on. Leah covered this pretty well and there's not too much to day about this time. Leah needed her medicine re-dosed a bit, but once the pain was well under control, we both slept a decent amount. Actually, we slept a lot more that night than the night before (when the contractions were very mild), because the real issue with sleeping was an uncomfortable bed. (Note to all the ladies: get the epidural when you *enter* the hospital. Otherwise your butt will keep falling asleep on the very uncomfortable bed and no sleep will be had).<br /><br />And so, in some regard, nothing interesting happened. Leah just grew more tired and frustrated with the process and time began to slow. But what I remember more is her waking me up and having me come over because she had started shaking violently. Leah broke down with tears of frustration and fear, the big fear being that she wouldn't have enough energy to push when the time came. Her body had nothing left. All she wanted was a drink of water. And still, shaking violently. And through it all, there wasn't a thing I could do. I couldn't give her water. I couldn't help the shaking. Nothing.<br /><br />Very frustrating.<br /><br />I could see things were starting to spiral out of control, so I was very relieved when our amazing doctor came in and had a talk with Leah. It was time to consider a c-section. Or, at least, a c-section was now a viable option. Leah had given it her all and, after 32 hours of labor, had started to lose it. The contractions had lost their zing and her body was out of baby-having juice.<br /><br />It as time for a c-section. There was really no choice. The doctor, although she wouldn't tell us what to do, gave me the impression that she really felt surgery was the only realistic option at this point. At this point it really appealed to me as I wasn't wild about the direction this was heading and a c-section meant we got to meet little Lucy much sooner.<br /><br />After a bit of deliberation and waiting a bit longer, the decision was made. Let's make the cut! Yay! It's slicin' time!<br /><br />And so Leah was wheeled out of the room and I was left to get dressed in my sweet-ass scrubs. The nurse came to get me and took me over to the other waiting room, where I waited for them to get Leah all prepped up. After 5-10 minutes of waiting (or more, I have no idea), it was time to head into the operating room and have a baby, Julius Caesar style.<br /><br />My job during the procedure was to keep Leah calm. I just kept letting her know that this was a very easy surgery and that, in the end, we would have a Lucy. She must have actually been quite tired as she actually nodded in agreement with me a few times. And through it all, we listened to a live episode of ER unfold. Our doctor was in complete command of the operating room, calmly directing the procedure and explaining each step of the way. The best part was that it was a teaching hospital, so the whole time a med student was getting quizzed and, I might add, getting some answers wrong. Tsk, tsk, tsk.<br /><br />After a mere ten minutes, out doctor announced that she was making the incision on the uterus and that there would be some pressure (I'd imagine so as she was wrist-watch deep in Leah's insides) and, 1 minute later...a baby cry. I was told I could stand up and see the baby (I think that's what I was told, anyway, as I certainly stood up) and saw little Lucille held above Leah's belly, crying her little (well, "little") head off. Yep, that's what I'd been waiting for.<br /><br />After that it was a bit of a whirlwind. She was brought over for me to hold along side Leah and then off to be warmed and cleaned. I was allowed to head over to the "giraffe" and watch her get all weighed and whatnot. I really couldn't believe how big she was. To me, she looked like a toddler. It was unreal. The nurse asked what I thought of the size and I threw out a guess of 10 lb 5 oz and, as it turns out, I wasn't off by much.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Births/Lucy-The-Early-Days/IMG1636/736841968_EUf3T-L-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Births/Lucy-The-Early-Days/IMG1636/736841968_EUf3T-L-1.jpg" width="302" /></a><br /></div><br />Yeah, I rule.<br /><br />What I remember most was just that she was actually cute. I mean, let's be honest, most babies aren't when they first make an appearance in the world. Most are damn ugly. But ours came out full formed and ready to rule the world.<br /><br />And so now here we are. At 9:12 today she turns a week old and she's already a completely different baby. We've started looking at colleges already (SAT flash cards are a great investment!) and it's pretty clear to me her #1 choice is IU. Go Hoosiers!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Births/Lucy-The-Early-Days/IMG1686/736845018_sfP4o-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Births/Lucy-The-Early-Days/IMG1686/736845018_sfP4o-L.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /></div>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05624030730170030659noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14208946.post-4953550264316122912009-12-13T18:00:00.000-06:002009-12-13T18:00:29.164-06:00She's Here! And She's Spectacular!As I get back to feeling to my normal self...still quite a ways off but each day gets better I can't believe that the little thing sitting next to me used to be inside of me. So here we go with how she got from in there to out here.&nbsp; Get some coffee as it's not a short post for obvious reasons :)<br /><br />On Sunday night we went to the hospital to start the induction process. It's a slow process and so they start at night. So went in and got all hooked up and the pitocin started started pumping.<br /><br />And it pumped.<br />And pumped.<br />Then it pumped some more.<br /><br />Then it was 12 hours later and although I was having contractions I didn't feel *anything* and I wasn't any farther along that I had been 12 hours earlier. Still only 1.5cm dilated and 50% effaced. They decided to take a break and let me eat some lunch and totally disconnected me from most of the machines so I could walk around more freely.<br /><br />At 12pm on Monday afternoon they started again and at about 1:30pm they broke my water manually. When they were done with what I can only describe as hell on earth I looked over at Jason and the poor guy was literally as white as a ghost. I was worried because I had never seen him look like that. He told me that it was the most horrible thing he had ever seen and I told him that I thought childbirth was going to be even worse.<br /><br />After they broke the water, things finally started moving. A few hours later I was 3cm dilated and 70% effaced. I started feeling the contractions. And then holy hell did I start feeling them. I had never planned on doing anything naturally as I don't really feel the need to feel the joys of childbirth and so I got an epidural. I'm not kidding it was the best thing in the world. I could have hugged that anesthesiologist and when Jason got back in the room he was like holy shit you are like light and day. I felt so much better, not only with the contractions but also with the bed. I had been so uncomfortable in the hospital bed and so being able to sit on it or lay on my side without there being instant pain in my butt and side was awesome. So I was finally able to get some sleep.<br /><br />The nurse at this point was awesome and we discussed a mutual love of candy. She was then able to get me a grape popsicle which I swear has never tasted better.<br /><br />At about 11:30pm I was 6.5cm dilated and 80% effaced. Things had sped up and so we thought that I might be doing some delivering around 2 or 3am. So we went to sleep. The contractions started to get worse and so we upped the epidural amount but we were on our way!<br /><br />At about 4am they checked again and uh oh....I was only 7cm dilated, although 90% effaced and -1 station. Things were slowing down. <br /><br />At 6:30am they checked again, and I was at 8cm dilated, 90% effaced and +1 station. So Ok. I was making progress but it had sloooooowed way down as this was 7 hours after being 6.5 cm dilated. So then I totally freaked out. I mean I was hysterical, my blood pressure rocketed and I couldn't catch my breath. The nurse got my doctor and I told her how tired I was and did she think I was ever going to get to 10cm. She said she couldn't tell me for sure but if I was done we could do a c-section and call it stalled labor. She left and Jason and I talked and I called my parents and I was just so exhausted. At this point I had been in labor for 32 hours. The first 12 might have been "easy" but my body was still contracting and I hadn't slept hardly at all.<br /><br />I told the doctor to check again in an hour. At that point I was exactly the same and I was done. There was no way that even if I made it to the pushing part would I have had enough energy to push for the amount of time it was going to take to get her out. I had gotten close, but in this game close doesn't cut it.<br /><br />So we told her that were ready for the c-section and to just get it done. From that point they stopped the pitocin to get it out of my system and who knows, maybe my body would have kicked it into gear. They checked back with me at about 8am, I had still made no progress and so we were a go for surgery.<br /><br />I was so scared. I have never been in a hospital let alone had surgery done.<br /><br />I was shaking so hard when they took me to the room. The anesthesiologist was great and he kept me pretty calm telling me what was happening for all the things they were doing. When we got the room I was already totally numb and so they were like you move a little to get over to the surgery bed. And I was like sure. Then I didn't move anywhere, so I was like. umm...maybe not.<br /><br />They got me moved over to the surgery bed, and started doing the prep work. And I was shaking a lot. And it was pretty fucking scary. But then they finished up that and suddenly Jason was in the room and things got started. We kind of felt like we were on a episode of ER because there was a med student in the room and they kept asking questions and going what is that or what would you do here. And I kept wondering what they were doing as I bet it would have been fascinating to see what was going on. Gross but pretty cool.<br /><br />It didn't take long before they said, ok you are going to feel a lot of pressure here. And I did. And then a baby started crying. And the doctor said, "I'd say Little Lucy is here but she's not very little!" I started crying because I could hear her crying and I could hear everyone talking about her. Another doctor in my practice said, "You look just like your mom!".<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Births/Lucy-The-Early-Days/IMG1641/736842217_3ihnJ-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Births/Lucy-The-Early-Days/IMG1641/736842217_3ihnJ-L.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /></div><br />Soon they told Jason they could come over to see her and told him to guess the weight. I couldn't hear what he said, and then they said, nope 9-6. And I said, "9-6?" and they said no....10-6! I laughed and said to myself, "Well I win!" Gotta love having the biggest baby among friends who all have big babies. Eventually Jason brought her over to me and I couldn't believe that she was finally here. She was wonderfully wonderful :). <br /><br />From there we rolled into a recovery room where they tested their blood sugar. I tried to breast feed and while it didn't work it was nice for her to get a chance to know my skin. They said if her blood sugar was under 40 she would have to go straight to the NICU, if it was 40-55 we would want to give her a bottle of formula to pump it up, and if it was over 55 we were good to go. The nurse tested and it was 35. I was thinking, "Oh no!!! She just got here don't take her from me." The nurse said when it's under 40 they do two tests and she just had to get another nurse. This nurse tested it and she measured 42. So we did the formula and after a 3rd test her blood sugar was up in the 80s. Before we went to our room there was one more test and her blood sugar was 56, so right above the cutoff. The NICU said it was fine for her to be with us but we would be testing her blood sugar ever 3 hours for the next 24 hours.<br /><br />From there they wheeled us upstairs, and she was with us. More stories from the hospital to come. But Miss Lucille Jean is here, she's wonderful and she's made Jason and I so flipping happy.<br /><br />There will be lots of pictures of her at my smugmug account. <a href="http://leahc.smugmug.com/Births/Lucy-The-Early-Days/10599658_jBkyS#736841884_ohDPJ">This gallery</a> will have all of her hospital pictures in it. Enjoy!LeahChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029022855972667159noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14208946.post-36203047144997600472009-12-11T06:42:00.001-06:002009-12-11T06:42:28.240-06:00Little baby cuteness<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16683045@N00/4176609858/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2691/4176609858_6437eeb5ae.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16683045@N00/4176609858/">Little baby cuteness</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/16683045@N00/">LeahC</a>.</span></div><p></p>LeahChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12029022855972667159noreply@blogger.com4